LeonLouisRicci
Joined Apr 2012
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The "House of Hammer" Turned its Back on the "Traditional" Werewolf/Wolf-Man Story.
The "Curse" of the Title is the Blasphemy of Being Born on Christmas Day by way of Rape.
Riding the Success of 3 Major Horror-Hits in a Row..."The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957)..."Horror of Dracula" (1958)..."The Mummy" (1959)...
it seems the "Little" British Studio that had Attained "Big" Notices and "Boffo-Box-Office" with its Trifecta that Took the B-Movie World by Storm...One "Modern" Classic After Another,
was Content to Take its Time Unfolding the Titular "Monster" Until the Final Act.
Then the Movie is Transformed from a "Storied-Pace" with a Lengthy "Back-Story", where None of it Holds Up Well... and is Left as a Major Drag.
But the "Bombastic" Tragedy of Oliver Reed's Unique and Unsettling Demeanor with Make-Up Drenched in Blood and Sweat Goes on a Spastic Rampage...
it Redeems the Movie from its Mediocre and Sprawling Narrative that Almost Destroyed Hammer's Streak of a Bonafide Mastery of Monster Modernism for the Post-War Audience.
However, Reed's Unforgettable Portrayal, the Stunning Make-Up, and the Overall Shear Professionalism, Coupled with the Explosive Heart-Pounding Dynamism of the Finale...
along with the Artistry of the "Hammer House" Displays, Render it a Place in the Pantheon of Pictures from the Past Served-Up with a Whole New Attitude.
"If it's a Hammer Film...It's Worth a Watch"
The "Curse" of the Title is the Blasphemy of Being Born on Christmas Day by way of Rape.
Riding the Success of 3 Major Horror-Hits in a Row..."The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957)..."Horror of Dracula" (1958)..."The Mummy" (1959)...
it seems the "Little" British Studio that had Attained "Big" Notices and "Boffo-Box-Office" with its Trifecta that Took the B-Movie World by Storm...One "Modern" Classic After Another,
was Content to Take its Time Unfolding the Titular "Monster" Until the Final Act.
Then the Movie is Transformed from a "Storied-Pace" with a Lengthy "Back-Story", where None of it Holds Up Well... and is Left as a Major Drag.
But the "Bombastic" Tragedy of Oliver Reed's Unique and Unsettling Demeanor with Make-Up Drenched in Blood and Sweat Goes on a Spastic Rampage...
it Redeems the Movie from its Mediocre and Sprawling Narrative that Almost Destroyed Hammer's Streak of a Bonafide Mastery of Monster Modernism for the Post-War Audience.
However, Reed's Unforgettable Portrayal, the Stunning Make-Up, and the Overall Shear Professionalism, Coupled with the Explosive Heart-Pounding Dynamism of the Finale...
along with the Artistry of the "Hammer House" Displays, Render it a Place in the Pantheon of Pictures from the Past Served-Up with a Whole New Attitude.
"If it's a Hammer Film...It's Worth a Watch"
Packed with Contemporaneous Counter-Culture Icons...Kris Kristofferson (Debut)...Gene Hackman...Karen Black...Harry Dean Stanton and Others...
It's One of those "In-Flux" Movies that was the 1st Wave of Cinema's "Freedom-Flag" Waving All Over the Late 60's-Early 70's Landscape with Celebratory "Chutzpah" resulting from, Finally, the "Death of the Motion Picture Production Code", Known as "The Code".
It was Slowly being Replaced by a "Rating System" that Tried to Define Content for Audience Awareness.
Some of the Films that "Exploited" or Tapped-In to the "Youth-Market" while Studios and Movie Muckety-Mucks" were Caught "Sleeping" Without a Clue.
Kristofferson does Fine and Adds 4 Songs, but the Acting Honors Go to Harry Dean Stanton as Pike's Heroin-Addicted Best-Friend, Karen Black as the "Girl', and in Limited Screen-Time a Perfectly Apt Gene Hackman as a Dino-Narc.
This is a Little Movie with a Lot on its Mind and Delivers the Drug-Music-Scene with a Verisimilitude that isn't Always an Easy Thing.
Gritty, Gripping, Entertaining Look-See at some of the Aftermath of the "Revolution", its Down-Home Residue and Unfiltered Unmasking that was, Frankly, Impossible or at Least Extremely Difficult During the Stranglehold that was "The Code".
Above Average and...
Worth a Watch.
It's One of those "In-Flux" Movies that was the 1st Wave of Cinema's "Freedom-Flag" Waving All Over the Late 60's-Early 70's Landscape with Celebratory "Chutzpah" resulting from, Finally, the "Death of the Motion Picture Production Code", Known as "The Code".
It was Slowly being Replaced by a "Rating System" that Tried to Define Content for Audience Awareness.
Some of the Films that "Exploited" or Tapped-In to the "Youth-Market" while Studios and Movie Muckety-Mucks" were Caught "Sleeping" Without a Clue.
Kristofferson does Fine and Adds 4 Songs, but the Acting Honors Go to Harry Dean Stanton as Pike's Heroin-Addicted Best-Friend, Karen Black as the "Girl', and in Limited Screen-Time a Perfectly Apt Gene Hackman as a Dino-Narc.
This is a Little Movie with a Lot on its Mind and Delivers the Drug-Music-Scene with a Verisimilitude that isn't Always an Easy Thing.
Gritty, Gripping, Entertaining Look-See at some of the Aftermath of the "Revolution", its Down-Home Residue and Unfiltered Unmasking that was, Frankly, Impossible or at Least Extremely Difficult During the Stranglehold that was "The Code".
Above Average and...
Worth a Watch.
A Singular "New-Wave-Cult-Movie"...Nothing Like it Before or Since.
This Bizarre, Blow-the-Mind Uninhibited Gonzo (but focused) Peek at the "Club-Scene" Circa Late 70's Early 80's.
A Completely Decadent Descent by the "Artistic" Crowd in New York City (pre America's Mayor), Framed with Ultra-Colored-Loved by Film-Makers and Performance Artists Getting Off on Getting-Down to the "Nitty-Witty-Gritty" Utilizing Film as Art to Make Avant-Garde Art.
"Liquid Sky" (a euphemism for heroin) is a "Classic" Love it or Hate it Experience.
Like a Psychedelic Trip where What-Happens is an Individual Thing, solely Based on the User-Set-Setting.
You Either Get-With-It or Not...Most Will NOT.
What Can Not be Denied is the Movie's Unique, Ground-Breaking Attitude about Many Things, especially Movie-Making.
A Decidedly Duel-Lead-Performance(s) from Anne Carlisle as "Margaret" and "Jimmy"... Captures the "Show", along with the Make-Up, Cinematography, and Story. A Conglomerate of Intrigue, Mystery, and Slice-of-Life Story-Telling, each Reaching for a Certain Profound, but Who Cares? Message of Cinema Verity, and Pop-Culture Sub-Headlines Beneath the Headlines.
A Barely Describable, in Common Parlance, Movie that is Entertaining, Out-There, and is so Pretentious in Every Thing it Presents, it Can Not Be Ignored as an "Underground" Film for Those that Live and Breathe "The Underground".
Others, Might Want to Avoid the Future-Shock of the Whole Thing, and Move Along, because what is Seen Here is Unavoidably Unsettling.
This Bizarre, Blow-the-Mind Uninhibited Gonzo (but focused) Peek at the "Club-Scene" Circa Late 70's Early 80's.
A Completely Decadent Descent by the "Artistic" Crowd in New York City (pre America's Mayor), Framed with Ultra-Colored-Loved by Film-Makers and Performance Artists Getting Off on Getting-Down to the "Nitty-Witty-Gritty" Utilizing Film as Art to Make Avant-Garde Art.
"Liquid Sky" (a euphemism for heroin) is a "Classic" Love it or Hate it Experience.
Like a Psychedelic Trip where What-Happens is an Individual Thing, solely Based on the User-Set-Setting.
You Either Get-With-It or Not...Most Will NOT.
What Can Not be Denied is the Movie's Unique, Ground-Breaking Attitude about Many Things, especially Movie-Making.
A Decidedly Duel-Lead-Performance(s) from Anne Carlisle as "Margaret" and "Jimmy"... Captures the "Show", along with the Make-Up, Cinematography, and Story. A Conglomerate of Intrigue, Mystery, and Slice-of-Life Story-Telling, each Reaching for a Certain Profound, but Who Cares? Message of Cinema Verity, and Pop-Culture Sub-Headlines Beneath the Headlines.
A Barely Describable, in Common Parlance, Movie that is Entertaining, Out-There, and is so Pretentious in Every Thing it Presents, it Can Not Be Ignored as an "Underground" Film for Those that Live and Breathe "The Underground".
Others, Might Want to Avoid the Future-Shock of the Whole Thing, and Move Along, because what is Seen Here is Unavoidably Unsettling.